1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a washing machine having a deodorizing unit, and a control method thereof, and more particularly, to a washing machine having a deodorizing unit to remove odor from objects to be deodorized, and a control method of the washing machine.
2. Description of the Related Art
Generally, washing machines are apparatuses to remove contaminants from clothes using friction between water and the clothes, and are divided into various types based on washing methods. A drum type washing machine, which has been widely used, and is shown in FIG. 1, comprises a tub 2 having a cylindrical structure installed in a main body 1 to contain wash water, a drum 3 having a cylindrical structure rotatably installed in the tub 2 and provided with a plurality of drain holes through a wall thereof, a driving motor 4 rotating the drum 3 in regular and/or reverse directions, and a door 5 to open and close the main body 1, to put or take laundry into and out of the washing machine.
The conventional drum type washing machine further comprises a water supply unit 6 installed on an upper part of the tub 2 supplying wash water to the tub 2, a drain unit 10 forcibly discharging the wash water from the tub 2, and a drying unit 13 drying the laundry.
The water supply unit 6 includes a water supply valve 7, a water supply pipe 8, and a detergent-dissolving device 9, and the drain unit 10 includes a drain pipe 11 and a drain pump 12. The drying unit 13 includes an air blast fan 14 installed on the upper part of the tub 2, a discharge duct 15 connecting an outlet of the air blast fan 14 and an opening of the tub 2, a condensing duct 16 connecting an air outlet installed through the lower part of the rear portion of the tub 2 and an inlet of the air blast fan 14, and a heater 17 installed in the discharge duct 15.
When washing instructions are inputted to the above conventional drum type washing machine, a microcomputer (not shown) opens the water supply valve 7 so that wash water is supplied to the drum 3, performs washing, rinsing and spin-drying operations, and then dries clothes put in the drum 3 by turning on the heater 17 and the air blast fan 14, so that hot blown air is supplied to the drum 3.
Since the conventional drum type washing machine does not have a deodorizing unit, if particles of offensive odor, such as the smell of tobacco or food, are attached to clothes, the conventional drum type washing machine only performs washing/rinsing/spin-drying/drying operations on the clothes only to remove the odor from the clothes. Accordingly, the conventional drum type washing machine is disadvantageous, in that it increases wear-and-tear of the clothes with the increased washing frequency, and requires unnecessary consumption of electric power.